Try the Redbat

Posted on Fri Mar 26th, 2021 @ 5:43pm by Lieutenant JG FalenvralLi Zh’kyhrihr & Lieutenant Commander Savin

Mission: By Artemis' Bow
Location: USS Athena Mess Hall
Timeline: MD-01
2834 words - 5.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Li pondered her first meeting with her new boss and the news that the Captain had picked her specifically while she navigated the unfamiliar corridors of Athena. She also gave some thought to what she'd say to a Chief Engineer. She'd been friends with plenty of mechanics and some lower ranking engineering staff, but the Chief of SB621 Engineering was not someone a simple shuttle pilot just popped in on. She had met the man a few times, mostly when he stopped by an air group meeting to chew out every pilot and mechanic who used "his" bays over one thing or another.

The Chief Engineer of Athena would have to wait though. Li could adapt to a lot, but her stomach was still on station time and it was well past lunch. Time to find out what the mess hall on her new home was like.

Not very busy at this time as it turned out. She exchanged pleasantries with the mess crew while grabbing a salad then stopped at the replicator for some redbat to add a little extra protein.

Seeing a new arrival looking for a place to sit after getting her meal, Savin waved her over to his table. He'd only just sat down himself to enjoy a quick break between appointments. He'd been disappointed Jerant hadn't been available but such was as it was lately. When he didn't have bridge duty, Jerant was assigned to additional linguistic duties to keep him busy. "Greetings lieutenant," he said, after a quick scan of her pips. "New arrival?"

Grinning at the welcoming gesture, Li slid her tray onto the table, "Thank you, Commander. I just got here, yeah. I won't ask if it shows since I'm sure it does. But I guess you get to know everyone on a ship this size too." She pondered his blue trimmed uniform and high rank. She certainly didn't know who everyone in charge was here, but she was pretty sure she'd glanced at all of the Department Heads and this man wasn't one of them. She was pretty sure she'd seen that the Chief of Science was a woman too. "So... Science or Med?" She gestured toward his uniform.

"I suppose a little of both, though mainly medical," Savin acknowledged the gesture at his uniform. He had his attention fully on her, watching her every move. "And I would know almost everyone on this vessel, I am, after all, the chief counselor." Though he didn't offer her his hand in greeting, as part of his upbringing, he did offer a welcoming smile. "I am Savin," he introduced himself.

At the reveal of his position, Lt. Li's smile grew slightly strained. It wasn't an expression of disdain or fear but one of recognizing that a conversation wasn't always just a conversation. "Li," she said, not noticing the lack of the common human handshake gesture. "With Flight Control now.."

"Now?" Savin arched a single eyebrow at her. "You were not always in flight control?" He noticed the strained smile, and the shift in emotions. "Do not worry, I do not always psycho-analyze everything people say to me. I will not make excuses for my profession, but I do try to not counsel those that are in my company, outside of my office hours." It couldn't always be helped of course, but that didn't mean he was always 'on' so to speak.

"Well," she said, spearing a chunk of meat and watching it hang from her fork as she spoke. "That's what my jacket said before, but I was just a small craft pilot. Now I'm an actual Flight Control Officer. I get to sit at the helm of the big ship here." She patted the table by way of caressing some small part of Athena, then took the forkful into her mouth. "And I get it," she said after chewing and swallowing. "Honestly, I've appreciated talking to Starfleet counselors before. It just wasn't what I was expecting during lunch. Of course you get to talk to people at meals too." She shrugged and speared some kale.

"We are who we are," Savin acknowledged, "but I do try. In my defense though, it cannot always be helped, but I do try to keep counseling to the sessions that are set." He speared some of his salad, briefly examining a piece of tomato before putting it in his mouth. "Are you looking forward to being at the helm? The primary helm, I would assume, as this ship does have a multi vector assault capability, in which case all key positions are pretty much split in three. Are they not?"

"Huh," Li grunted. "The Commander just said 'the helm'. I guess I assumed the primary hull's helm, but now I'm not sure. Do they keep all three bridges staffed at all times?" She gestured at the ship around her. "And yeah. It's something I've been thinking about. You know with a little racer or even a nicely tuned shuttle with the inertial dampeners turned down to Minimum Safe, you can find some thrills you never will - or you sure wouldn't want to - in a ship like this. But when you factor in the... the... aggregate agency," her voice lilted upward, questioning her way through the thought, "of a whole crew? The potential a ship like this has? I guess it's just a different sort of thrill. Less adrenal, more cerebral if that makes sense."

Savin nodded. "A different kind of thrill," he agreed, "though I would not know anything about that, I am not a pilot. I can fly a shuttle on an away mission if necessary but it is not something I do often." He stirred around in his salad, his attention for his food waning as he looked at the Andorian across from him. "Have you always wanted to fly?" he asked in sincere curiosity.

Li raised an eyebrow, thinking this conversation was sounding more and more like a couch session. Still, she had nothing to hide. She shrugged. "Always? I always enjoyed... speed. Growing up, everyone would ride these... I guess humans would call them "sleds", I'm not sure if you had something similar. Unpowered, one-person, flimsy little things that sort of skated along the ice. I moved up to something a little faster and semi-powered that some of us used to race." Her eyes unfocused as she remembered the rush of the sub-zero wind on her skin. The sting of ice particles thrown up by other racers. The thrill of coming in first.

"Flying though, came a little later. My Thaven - one of my Dads - had a little freighter. Whenever he came home he'd take me up to visit. Let me fly the little shuttle he had. Or at least put my hand on the stick while he flew it at first. Being able to move in three dimensions like that, to choose your own course, not just go where the ice would take you... That was exhilarating."

She blinked away where that course of memories would take her. Where it did take her on her way here. "What about you? Have you always dreamed of talking people through their issues?"

"Actually no." Savin smiled. "I wanted to he a surgeon, follow into the footsteps of my father who is a doctor himself. My professors found my aptitude was not with surgery but with counseling and advised me to pursue that course instead." He paused. "I am qualified to pilot a shuttle but I fear I do not often get a chance."

"Man, aptitude is important but I don't know what I'd do if someone told me I couldn't fly. Well, I guess I do know what I'd have done at 16..." She pushed her empty bowl to the side a bit and took a sip of water. "I guess this has worked out for you though. You've built a career of it clearly, making Lieutenant Commander. But if you ever want to try your hand at something a little more thrilling than a standard shuttle, let me know. I have some sims that'll get your heart racing." She studied his features - assuming him to be Vulcan - but, for all of their outward calm demeanor and adherence to logic, it's not like they didn't have physiological reactions to excitement. Based on this brief meeting, he struck her as a but more emotionally open than most Vulcans she'd met but she wasn't going to judge him either way.

"My promotion came as a surprise to me, I had not expected it for quite some time," Savin admitted, very aware of her scrutiny. "I would welcome the chance to enhance my piloting skills, who knows when one might need it. It would be something quite different than my regular exercise, to say the least." For a moment, he returned her scrutiny with that of his own. "What are you thinking?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

She shook her head. "Not much deep. Maybe that I shouldn't be thinking about what we could run on the holodeck when I have a whole new ship to get used to. When that ship is actually going places, not just hanging in space like my last posting. I guess a lot of that excitement is on-duty stuff though, huh? What do folks on Athena do for fun in their off hours?"

"That depends on the person. Personally, I spar with my sword. With or without opponent." he shrugged. "A replica in the gym, obviously as I would not wish to harm anyone. I also like to play baseball on the holodeck, I find I am very adept at playing pitch. What about you?"

With a tilt of her head, Li responded, "I was never much for ball sports. Or combat really. We did have some basic swordsmanship classes growing up back home, but it always felt like an excuse for the bigger kids to rub it in unless you got really good with your blade. No, if I'm planet-side or on the holodeck I - well like I said, I like to go fast. Skiing, skeleton, motorbikes, or just little racing spaceships. I'll put my time in the gym, but I wouldn't say I do it for fun." She looked around at the mess hall and added, "The starbase had this civilian bar a lot of us would go to when we had some time off to unwind. I guess there's nothing like that here though. Like actual drinks. Dancing."

"Not to my knowledge no, but I cannot afford to indulge anyway. My aide occasionally does though." Savin put his fork down, pushing the plate away. "Surely the replicator can create an actual drink? As far as swordsmanship goes, it is tradition among the Vulcans. One has to be proficient with certain weapons, ones life may one day depend on the skill in using them. The clan I grew up in however, was one of the warrior clans on Vulcan, therfore, swordsmanship is something that is expected of most men in the clan."

"Can they? It was always the rumor at academy that if you requested alcohol from a Starfleet replicator it would give you something else and report you. I guess I never tested it even after graduation. It's not so much about the booze anyway as it is the scene. Not that everyone has to be drinking for it to be fun, but I enjoy a little as part of it."

With a sigh, Li looked off into the distance, remembering the weight of an ushaan-tor in one hand and a sabre in the other when she was just a skinny kid in the icy caverns. The padding kept damage non-lethal but allowed for plenty of bruising. She half turned her chair, watching the mess crew wipe down the serving area. "Yeah, my family was pretty traditional even among our clan. The ability and willingness to fight for our way of life was... well if my lack of swordsmanship was their biggest disappointment, things would be a lot different."

The counselor said nothing as she partly turned away from him. He had the feeling she had said something, but as she was turned he couldn't be sure. So instead, he patiently waited for her to turn back to him while he took a sip of his drink.

Li looked over her shoulder, curious at the counselor's silence on that point. She just nodded though. "Well, Commander Savin, It's been a pleasure meeting you and sharing lunch but I probably should find my way to Engineering and leave you to your day as well. No doubt I will see you around."

"Counselor," Savin corrected gently, with a minute nod, "I prefer counselor. Rank has no meaning to me." He stood as well, gathering his tray. "May I accompany you?"

"By all means, Counselor." She stood and slotted her tray, turning toward the exit but giving him the opportunity to lead the way.

Savin did the same then passed her to precede her to engineering. "Can I take you up on that offer of flying sometime?" he asked as they exited the mess. "I believe it is necessary for me to keep up my certification to fly shuttles. Just in case, you know?"

With him walking in front of her, Li spoke up only slightly as they walked down the corridor. "I think I can help you with that. I'll actually have to brush up on what exactly the sim requirements are to maintain rating. I know it's a thing, but I've always logged so many live flight hours in small craft I never had to worry about it. I had to run through some tests to renew my rating on a Prometheus, but that's a whole other kettle of shaysha. Maybe once you're through we can see how you handle something a little more exciting too." She chuckled, watching his back.

Again no answer was forthcoming though just as she finished speaking, he turned his head to see if she was still with him. "Why do you need to go through engineering? Do you have special requirements?"

A little thrown by what seemed to her a sudden shift in an ongoing conversation, she stepped quickly to catch up and walk abreast with Savin. "No, no special requirements. Commander Thy'lissa brought it up and I think it's a good idea to at least meet someone down there. You never know when you are going need something and in the middle of shit hitting the fan isn't the best time for introductions."

"Why would fecal matter get into contact with a fan?" savin asked, confusion crossing his features, "though you are correct it is essential to know other key personnel. I made my acquaintance with Lieutenant Keating when she arrived. I find, she is quite remarkable at what she does."

She was genuinely confused by his response for a moment, then barked out a laugh. "No, no I don't think it happens often. But just imagine if it did. Call it a colorful metaphor for just how wrong things can go when they go wrong. I guess I picked that up on Earth. We don't have too many fans sitting out in the open on Andoria. If you want it colder, just crack a hatch open or turn down the heat." She considered how qualified the counselor might be to make an assessment of the ship's engineer but at least he didn't hesitate based on what he did know from his own position.

"Confidence in the people who keep the ship's heartbeat running is important. In smaller quarters, a pilot ends up right next to them a lot, but here a lot of it is abstracted away. You aren't sitting right on top of the warp core, so it's helpful to know it's in good hands."

"I do not believe sitting on top of a warp core is such a good idea to begin with," the counselor remarked, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Either way, Lieutenant Keating has been exceptionally helpful to me, so if you do need something from her, trust in her skill. she is exceptional."

"I guess you haven't taken a very close look at the schematics of many small shuttles. But still, it's comforting to hear good things."

"Nor will I probably." He grinned openly now. "I would not understand them as I am not an engineer."

"It is good to know your limitations." Li stopped at a turbolift door and turned to him. "Well, I have to drop down a few decks to get to Engineering. It has been a pleasure meeting you though, Counselor. Thank you for your company at lunch, and the conversation."

"Trust me, I am very aware of my limitations," Savin smiled, taking a small step back. "The pleasure was mine." He offered a slight bow, then walked away.